It's a common quirk of human psychology to make the mental leap that the way things are is the way things ought to be. New research into how we explain the world around us sheds light on the phenomenon.

A makeshift shrine to Harambe, the zoo gorilla whose death has raised some uncomfortable moral questions.
William Philpott/Reuters8 juin 2016

For human groups to grow from small, intimate communities to the huge interconnected societies we know now, people needed to be willing to cooperate with strangers. Religion might have played a big role.

Considerations of the moral case for coal must do far more than consider whether cheap fossil energy will lift people out of poverty. It must consider the pollution and harm to nature that come with it.

Whether we’re reading about family studies research in Women’s Day , Scientific American or the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, most of us look for evidence that will help us understand where we sit along…